Auditors Combing Through DeKalb County Commissioners' Expenses

Auditors are combing through the last 10 years of spending by DeKalb County commissioners after criticism arose this year about how five commissioners were using county-issued credit cards.

The audit, which will cost the county $83,000, will be done by O. H. Plunkett & Co. accounting firm. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says auditors will examine commissioners’ spending on their charge cards, plus their expenses for travel, services and goods. All purchases will be reviewed to ensure they were made for county business.

DeKalb County Commissioner Elaine Boyer apologized in March for allegedly misusing her county debit card for thousands of dollars of personal expenses, and said she didn’t realize the practice was prohibited.

According to an investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Boyer used her county VISA card for non-work-related expenses that include meals, rental cars, and airline tickets to a ski resort. Boyer, who reportedly tallied more than $12,047 in personal charges on her county-issued credit card, says she didn't realize that was prohibited. 

Later reports questioned the spending of Commissioners Larry Johnson, Sharon Barnes Sutton, Stan Watson and Kathie Gannon, the newspaper says.